Polish Catholic Bishops Denounce Anti-Semitism

Special to The New York Times

Published: December 20, 1990

WARSAW, Dec. 19—
Poland's Roman Catholic bishops today issued a document condemning anti-Semitism in this country and acknowledged that some Poles helped Nazis kill Jews during World War II.

"We express our sincere regret over all cases of anti-Semitism which were committed at any time or by anyone on Polish soil," the bishops said in a four-page statement that is to be read during masses in Catholic churches here on Jan. 20. "All cases of anti-Semitism are against the spirit of the Gospel . . . and are contrary to the Christian vision of human dignity, the bishops said. The move follows Pope John Paul II's endorsement on Dec. 6 of an earlier statement forged by Catholic and Jewish leaders from Europe and the United States who met in Prague and called for an aggressive effort by the church to combat anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe.

"From the Polish perspective this is a major breakthrough," said Konstanty Gebert, a political columnist in Warsaw who is Jewish. "It formally confirms that anti-Semitism exists here, that it is reprehensible, and that it is a Catholic duty to combat it." More than 90 percent of Poles identify themselves as Catholics. "But as a Jew I find serious flaws in this," Mr. Gebert said. "It has simply come too late."

Since Eastern Europe's first non-Communist government took office 16 months ago, anti-Semitism has moved into the open. While anti-Jewish grafitti became a common sight on city streets this year, the phenomenon was perhaps most striking during Poland's first popular Presidential campaign, which ended with a landslide victory for Lech Walesa on Dec. 9.

In the campaign, voters often said they were voting against Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, a Catholic, because they believed he was of Jewishorigin. His aides have ascribed his defeat in the first round of voting Nov. 25 in part to anti-Semitic accusations.

Mr. Walesa, who is to be inaugurated Saturday, last summer repeatedly called on politicians of Jewish origin to declare themselves as such.

Mr. Walesa later said that his comments were meant to rid the campaign of anti-Semitism, not inspire it. He later apologized for the comment, saying that he had misspoken, and last week he told an American rabbi that under his tenure Poland would enter a new phase free of anti-Semitism.

Before World War II, Poland was the center of world Judaism, with a population of more than three million Jews. After the war, only 300,000 remained. Thousands more emigrated during Government-sponsored anti-Jewish purges in 1968 and today only some10,000 people who identify themselves as Jews live here, and their average age is 70.

But the specifics of Polish anti-Semitism are such that it has persisted even without great numbers of Jews and has most recently found its targets in people whose ancestors may or may not have have been Jewish or those who are thought of as cosmopolitan, or internationalist in their outlook as well as those who are suspected or professed agnostics or atheists.

In the document, the bishops repeated Vatican pronouncements that Jews have no responsibility for the death of Christ and said anti-Semitism was against the spirit of the gospel.

"There is no other religion with which the church would have such close relations, nor is there any other nation with which it would be so closelytied," the statement said.

The bishops went on to refer to the period when the Nazis killed millions of Jews in death camps, many of which were built on Polish soil.

"If there was only one Christian who could help but did not extend his hand to a Jew in danger or contributed to his death, then it makes us ask our sister and brother Jews for forgiveness," the bishops said. adding that the awareness that there were Poles who assisted the Nazis would "forever gnaw at our conscience."

But the bishops said it was unfair to single out Poland as anti-Semitic.

"We feel it is unjust to speak of so-called Polish anti-Semitism as an especially virulent form of anti-Semitism," they said. Reports of Polish anti-Semitism have drawn international criticism in recent months.